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LATEST NEWS: DI LUCA DENIES
Road Bike Action & AFP
August 26, 2009
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Di Luca Denies
Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca on Wednesday claimed he was the victim of a conspiracy after twice testing positive for banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin) during May's Tour of Italy. Di Luca finished second in the event he previously won in 2007 but returned positive tests for the new-generation EPO called CERA on both May 22 and 28.
Di Luca won two stages during the Giro and held the leader's pink jersey for eight days before eventually losing to Russian Denis Menchov by just 41 seconds. "I just can't explain the two positive tests at the Giro. I'm not ruling out a conspiracy but before I can confirm it I have to be sure," he said during his meeting with the Italian Olympic Committee's (CONI) anti-doping prosecutor.
The 33-year-old was given a one month extension to his hearing after arguing that he didn't have all the information he needed to supply a proper defense. He was temporarily suspended on July 22 after the results of his tests were published. "I said previously that if my B samples confirmed the positive tests I would retire from cycling but now I've changed my mind and I am certain I will ride again in the Tour of Italy," added Di Luca. "My lawyers and I have some serious doubts about the method used in the doping tests which have produced positive results. These methods have already given false positives and I think that's the case with me. I would have to be a man without a brain to have used CERA, which stays in the blood and urine for a month, especially during the Giro."
This was not the first doping controversy Di Luca has found himself involved in. During his Tour of Italy victory in 2007 he produced an abnormal dope test and anti-doping prosecutors here requested a two-year ban but he was acquitted due to a lack of evidence. He did, however, serve a three month ban last year for his involvement in the 'Oil for drugs' scandal of 2004.
 Will Steegmans ride with Armstrong in 2010 (Photo: Roberto Betini)
Rosseler And Steegmans To The Shack?
Belgians Sebastien Rosseler and Gert Steegmans are set to join Lance
Armstrong's new team Radio Shack, according to reports in several
Belgian newspapers Wednesday. According to Het Nieuwsblad, Rosseler,
28, will quit Quick Step at the end of the season to sign a two-year
deal with Radio Shack – which is set to be managed by current Astana
team manager Johan Bruyneel.
Bruyneel, who has accumulated nine Tour de France victories as a team
manager, seven of which with Armstrong, has a year left on his contract
with Astana. Steegmans, a Tour de France stage winner who recently
parted company with Russian outfit Katusha, is set to sign a one-year
deal with Radio Shack, according to Gazet van Antwerpen.
Armstrong finished third overall at the Tour de France in July while
racing for Astana on what was his first participation in the race since
securing his seventh yellow jersey in 2005, after which he retired.
 Boonen is free of all criminal charges (Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Charges Against Boonen Dropped
Top Belgian cyclist Tom Boonen has been told that all criminal charges relating to his use of cocaine will be dropped if he pays a 1000 euro fine, the public prosecutor in Turnhout said Wednesday. The court said if Boonen, a former world champion and Tour de France stage winner who is a specialist in the Belgian one-day classics, paid the fine the case would be closed.
"We consider Boonen as just another consumer of drugs, not as a famous sportsman of whom an example should be made," the public prosecutor was quoted as saying in Het Nieuwsblad newspaper. Cocaine, although illegal, is not considered a performance-enhancing drug and both of Boonen's tests were not carried out by the sporting authorities. He first tested positive in April 2008, ruling him out of last year's Tour de France. His second positive test was in May 2009, which also ruled him out of the world's biggest race until he was granted a shock eleventh hour reprieve.
 Voigt will return to Saxo Bank for the 2010 (Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Voigt Extends With Saxo Bank
37-year-old German Jens Voigt has extended his contract with the Danish Saxo Bank for one more year. "Jens is in many ways a role model for both our young and experienced riders. He has an important role to play in our team," said team manager Bjarne Riis of Voigt who in July fell heavily during the 16th stage of the Tour de France. The unfortunate Voigt was suffered a severe concussion and broke his cheekbone. It was then speculated that Voigt's career was over.
Jens Voigt thanked the team lead for the trust. "I welcome this opportunity and want to prove that I'm strong enough to do the things that I want to do. Team Saxo Bank is the Barcelona or Real Madrid in the cycling world. I did not settle with the team at a lower level and am pleased that Bjarne Riis thinks I'm good enough to perform at this level."
 Johan Bruyneel has been admitted to the hospital with an acute fever (Photo: Roberto Betttini)
Bruyneel Hospitalized
Belgian news agency nieuwsblad.be is reporting that Johan Bruyneel, the
team manager of Astana, was admitted to the hospital in Marbella,
Spain with an acute fever. It is currently unknown what is causing the
fever. It is believed Bruyneel will be in the hospital for at least
four days.
 Team Type will manage itself in 2010 (Photo: Team Type 1)
Team Type 1 Brings Management In-House
Team Type 1 is bringing management services in-house for the 2010 season, Chief Executive Officer Phil Southerland announced Tuesday. The announcement means the endurance sports program that consists primarily of athletes with Type 1 diabetes will employ its own staff to handle the day-to-day operations for six programs, including a pair of professional cycling teams.
Team Sports, Inc., which has been employed the past two seasons to manage Team Type 1’s infrastructure, will not be a part of the program after the contract between the two parties expires on Dec. 31, 2009. Team Sports General Manager Tom Schuler said the separation is an amicable one. Schuler has been with Team Type 1 since its initial season of professional racing in 2008, is a member of the Bicycling Hall of Fame and past owner of the groundbreaking Saturn Pro Cycling Team from 1992-2003. “I was helping Team Type 1 co-founders Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge even before the team was formally announced,” Schuler said. “Though Team Sports will no longer be a part of Team Type 1, the relationship between the three of us will always be there.”
Schuler helped Team Type 1 expand to include a number of programs, including a women’s professional team, a triathlon team, a development squad and Team Type 2. In the past two years, Team Type 1 has won nearly 100 races, including this year’s Race Across America (RAAM) in the eight-person team division.
The next step to accommodate further expansion in 2010 was for Team Type 1 to bring its business operations in-house, Southerland said. “The success of Team Type 1 has not come without having good people employed in the right positions,” Southerland said. “Bringing our operations in-house means we can directly employ these people and provide them with health insurance and other competitive benefits.”
For 2009, Team Type 1’s primary sponsors are Apidra® and Lantus® insulins (manufactured by sanofi-aventis), the FreeStyle Navigator® Continuous Monitoring System by Abbott Diabetes Care, Insulet’s Insulet OmniPod Insulin Management System, Dex4 – makers of rapid-acting glucose and VSP Vision Care, the nation's largest eyecare provider.
In addition to inspiring others living with diabetes to take action to improve their health and achieve their own personal goals, Team Type 1 aims to place a rider with Type 1 diabetes in the Tour de France by 2012. |
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